Billy Taylor’s wife heard there was a coaching job available with Canton’s varsity wrestling team.

The former Central (Okla) State wrestler immediately got on that job tip and, before long, got the nod as the Chiefs’ new coach. Taylor succeeds longtime coach Cory Mancuso.

“She knew how passionate I am about wrestling and how it’s all I talked about,” Taylor said before a practice last week at Canton High School.

He added that he is pumped up about the opportunity.

“I feel really good,” Taylor said. “This is the first time being a head coach. The two assistant coaches I have, I couldn’t ask for two better guys.”

Those would be two Park wrestling rivals and friends: 2015 Canton graduate Nick Durocher and 2015 Salem alum Caleb McCabe.

“These guys are great wrestlers; one wrestled for Salem and the other wrestled for Canton,” Taylor said. “These guys give 100 percent with these kids, they’re one-on-one with them, as I am myself.”

Durocher and McCabe are young enough to connect with the wrestlers, to help them better understand the commitment required to have on-mat success.

Taylor knows better than either of them, of course, having starred in the 1980s at Chickasha High School and Central State in the 118-pound weight class.

“You have to be mentally tough in this sport, because it’s one-on-one,” Taylor said. “Not to take anything away from any other sport, but on the mat it’s just you and me.

“The person who wants it the most and (has) the biggest heart is the one who’s going to take it.”

They'll work hard

He added that his coaching philosophy is pretty simple: work, improve, keep working.

“No. 1 is they have to have the basics to be a good wrestler and also conditioning,” Taylor said. “If my conditioning is better than my opponent’s, most likely I will out-wrestle this guy for six minutes.

“If you have no conditioning, I don’t care if you’re a two-time state champion; if your conditioning is nowhere close to where it should be and my guys are, we’re going to win every time.”

The 2016-17 Chiefs, who are coming off a 3-5 season (1-4 in the KLAA South Division), have room to grow. But Taylor is enthusiastic about a trio of returnees who will be team leaders in the wrestling room and during dual meets.

“We have two seniors right now and both of those guys are solid wrestlers,” Taylor said. “Winnie, in my eyes, I think he should win states. Those guys give 100 percent every time on the wrestling mat. I look for high results from these guys.

“And Dehnke, if he keeps doing what he is doing right now, he should either be a state champion or a runner-up himself. I never seen a kid that worked so hard in my life.”

That trio will need to excel, because the Chiefs have only 17 wrestlers and lack numbers in the upper weights.